Area briefs

Street signs changed to honor developer

Workers with the city of Lawrence traffic division began putting up new street signs Monday morning that changed 15th Street west of Iowa to Bob Billings Parkway.

Billings was president and chairman of the board of Alvamar Inc., which developed much of western Lawrence. He was also known for his philanthropy and support of Kansas University. He died at age 65 in February 2003. The Lawrence City Commission approved renaming the street just months after Billings died.

More than 50 street signs along the road will be replaced at a cost of roughly $4,000. Bobbie Flory, director of the Lawrence Home Builders Assn. that spearheaded the renaming, said the cost was paid by private donations.

Wilford, Neb.

Former Lawrence official resigns as superintendent

Doug Eicher, a former Lawrence school administrator, has resigned as the superintendent of the Milford school district in Milford, Neb.

Milford school board member Jim Stahly said the board unanimously accepted Eicher’s resignation at a July 12 board meeting.

Eicher’s resignation came in the midst of a scandal. Police arrested Eicher, 50, during an undercover sting in June in a Lincoln park. He was accused of asking an undercover police officer to engage in a sex act.

John Craver, who works for the city of Lawrence traffic division, prepares to place a new street sign.

Lancaster County Court in Nebraska dropped a public indecency charge against Eicher when he agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program.

Eicher didn’t immediately return calls.

Stahly said the district was in the process of finding an interim superintendent. He declined to comment further on the situation.

Taxes

Mill levy decrease proposed in De Soto

The De Soto school board is expected to vote on the district’s $25 million budget Monday after a 6 p.m. budget hearing at the district’s administration building, 35200 W. 91st St., in De Soto.

Alvie Carter, coordinator of community relations for the district, said the mill levy is expected to drop by two mills to 72.7 mills this year from 74.7 mills last year.

A mill is a tax of $1 per $1,000 in assessed valuation. A property owner with a home appraised at $150,000 would pay an estimated $1,090.63 in taxes to the school district based on the proposed mill levy. A home owner with a house appraised at the same amount would have paid $1,121.01 last year.